Copyright
Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D. 1992
00800
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION:
After all that we have studied in this section of theology it should be obvious that God not only wanted us to have this information, but that He wanted all of mankind to have this information.
Believers in this present time seem to be saving the Bible for their own use rather than proclaiming it to those around the world that so desperately need it. We need to share the Word with those around us and those around the world.
1. PROCLAIM IT FOR WHAT IT IS:
Proclaim It because this is the Word of God, the message for all of mankind. We need to give the word forth as if it were what we believe it to be.
It is AUTHORITATIVE! It has within Itself all the authority that is needed to use It. You should give it forth and use it as the authority dictates.
It is ERRORLESS! We need to be sure that what we say It says, is true and use It as the Errorless Word of God.
It is POWERFUL! We need to give It forth as if It were dynamite. It is powerful and will do many things in the lives of people if we will only use It.
2. PROCLAIM IT AS IF YOU BELIEVED IT:
Some pastors talk of the Word as if It were a snake that was sleeping on their pulpit. They act as though, if they get excited about It, It might wake up and bite them. It has it's own built in excitement and credibility. We need not shy away from being forceful with the Word.
3. PROCLAIM IT WITH CONFIDENCE:
God has called you as a believer to proclaim the Word. He has called some of us to preach the Word. We should use the word with a strong confidence that what we are saying is something that can be used by the people that we minister to.
We don't need to be apologetic about our preaching. God told us to proclaim the Word, so we must with all the confidence that we have.
4. PROCLAIM IT AS IF YOU WERE THE EXPERT:
Many relate to me they feel very unsure of themselves when someone important is in the congregation. ALMIGHTY GOD IS IN THE CONGREGATION EVERY TIME WE OPEN OUR MOUTHS! WE OUGHT NOT WORRY ABOUT SOMEONE SPECIAL FROM THE HUMAN RACE THAT MIGHT BE PRESENT.
I know just what they are talking about however. I was asked to preach at a church in the northwest. I knew that I would have a Bible College president and three or four of his professors in the congregation. I knew there would be a very wealthy orthopedic surgeon present. I knew that my Lord and Savior was going to be present. That is probably the only reason that I was able to walk up to that pulpit. I knew that I had done my preparation, and that the message I was sharing was from God's word. That was my confidence. I dare say that the time I spent in that pulpit that morning was the time when I began to gain the confidence to preach more as I ought. I still do not have all the confidence that I would like, however this was a beginning point.
THERE IS NOTHING THAT MAN CAN DO TO YOU SAVE TAKE YOUR LIFE! WHY DO WE DREAD WHAT THOSE MEN WILL THINK AND SAY WHEN WE ARE MINISTERING THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
5. PROCLAIM THE WORD WITHOUT BEING A RESPECTER OF PERSONS:
There are all sorts of people. There are rich and poor, there are men and women, there are tall and short, there are wide and thin, there are smart and not so smart, there are spiritual giants and spiritual pigmies.
All - I repeat, ALL are needy of being fed as the rest. Every single person sits down to take in physical food and every one ought to sit down to take in spiritual food. Do not hesitate to speak to the sin of the rich man. Do not hesitate to speak to the sin of the spiritual giant. This may not be popular, however, spiritual giants have their problems just as we pigmies do! Do not hesitate to speak to the sin of the board member or anyone else that is present.
This may affect your job security if you look to the church for your security. May I recommend that you look to God for your job security!
Do not hesitate to speak to the sin of the politician. ALL ARE SHEEP AND ARE IN NEED OF FEEDING AND LEADING! NEVER FORGET THIS!
6. PROCLAIM IT AS IF IT IS THE LAST TIME YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO SO:
We may be overrun by some other country tonight. The Lord could be here before coffee break is over. We could have a massive heart attack in the middle of the service. This is the message that God has laid upon our heart! We need to be putting it out with all the gusto that you can muster!
7. PROCLAIM IT AS IF IT HAD MEANING:
We know that if we saw smoke and flame in the building that we would yell FIRE! Yet so often we see the sin in a life and see that the life is headed for trouble, and yet we sit by, watching and knowing that we have the answer to the problem.
We also have the answer to LOST man's problems, and we are so hesitant to give the answers. We wait until we are asked the question.
8. PROCLAIM IT!!!!:
We have a related topic which I would like to touch on briefly.
RECEPTION OF THE WORD:
1. RECEIVE IT AS IF IT WERE FROM GOD:
This is not to say that we shouldn't be good Berean's and check all things against the Scripture. It is to say that we should receive messages and lessons as from God and not from man. If we view messages as from men we may tend not to listen to them quite as closely. If we view them as from God we won't tend to argue with the message as much.
2. RECEIVE IT AS FROM A MAN OF GOD:
I trust that you will listen carefully to me and not misunderstand what I am going to say. There is much emphasis on education today. Everyone is wanting to have several degrees behind their name.
Education is not wrong in and of itself. The desire and lust after education and the glory it may bring IS wrong.
I trust, in fact, that some of you might go on with your education and prepare for ministries that God may call you into.
For others of you that may be in a lay ministry I trust that you will relax in the knowledge that God has prepared you adequately for the work that he has you involved in. This is not to say that He might not send you to school many years down the road to prepare for something else. For now, you have all that you have need of!
HOWEVER, degrees behind the name do not guarantee a good message. Degrees behind the name do not guarantee a spiritual messenger.
HOWEVER, the lack of degrees behind the name do not guarantee a good message. The lack of degrees behind the name do not guarantee a spiritual messenger.
So, What is the sum of what I have said? Degrees, or lack of degrees, has very little to do with the spirituality of the messenger, or the message as long as the preparer has adequate knowledge to do the job correctly.
Indeed, it has little to do with the receptiveness of the hearer.
To illustrate all this let me relate a story to you. I had the pleasure of ministering in a little Northern California coast city for a weekend. I talked some with the pastor that weekend and felt that I was talking to a man of God that had been well educated in the realm of spiritual things. At dinner Sunday I asked him where he went to college. He turned a bit red in the face and mentioned that he had quit high school when he was finished with the eighth grade and had not been back to school.
Education for this man of God came from the Word that is powerful to change men's lives. I have had a number of friends that have finished seven years of Bible college and Seminary. These men have much to say spiritually as well.
IT ISN'T THE EDUCATION NECESSARILY, BUT THE WILLINGNESS TO BE TAUGHT OF THE LORD FROM THE WORD!
I trust that I have not downgraded nor uplifted education! There are some today that will look down their noses at the uneducated and there are those that look up their noses at the educated. Both are in sin! Both persons are looking down or up their noses due to their own pride in what they have, or have not. God leads different men in different directions.
I trust that you will never condemn another believer for having education. When you do you condemn the Lord that led that person to gain that schooling. I trust also that you never condemn anyone for not having an education. God is a God of variety. He can use anyone that He wants to use, no matter how educated or uneducated the person is.
We have studied God's Word from a very academic standpoint in this study so that we might have answers for those that doubt - that includes ourselves. These truths may come in handy for your own lives. You may find yourself one day with doubts. Just think through some of the things that we have covered in this section.
Consider the Word's claims for Itself and rest in the assurance that this is the very message that Almighty God has given us for ourselves, but more than that, for the lost of the world.
Ryrie presents a chart in His Theology book that I have adapted for our study. (Adapted by permission: Ryrie, Charles C.; "BASIC THEOLOGY"; Wheaton: Victor Books, 1986, p 117)
THE BIBLE AND ITS TRANSMISSION TO MAN
GOD’S THOUGHTS (revelation)
given
HUMAN AUTHOR (inspiration)
recorded
ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS (canonicity)
collected
BOOKS (textual criticism)
produced
MODERN GREEK AND HEBREW BIBLES (translation)
produced
MODERN ENGLISH BIBLES (illumination and interpretation)
used in
OUR THOUGHTS (application)
producing
CHANGED LIVES (communication)
sharing with
OTHERS
Now, how do we apply all this in the area of communication.
1. This is God's message to man. This Bible is God's message to all mankind - not just believers - not just people in the United States of America, but to all of mankind.
2. This Book has all that is necessary for mankind to know God, and be saved from God's wrath.
3. God has given this information to us in an understandable manner.
4. By some normal principles of speech and language we should be able to understand fully that which God desired to communicate to us.
5. This is a work that can usher all of mankind into the Kingdom of the Lord if man will only accept the Lord Jesus that It presents.
I trust that this study will move you to a strong confidence in the Word, as well as a strong desire to communicate the Word.